Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 23, 2023

It may a little difficult for even (perhaps especially) diehard martial arts film fans to think of Sammo Hung as the heir apparent to Bruce Lee, but the back cover of this release at least makes an attempt to honor Hung's fight choreography as the natural continuance of approaches begun by Lee. Hung provided choreography for a host of action films, many directed by Huang Feng, and as is related both by Hung himself and Frank Djeng in his commentary, Feng himself helped to get Hung his first assignment as an actual director, namely the film currently under discussion. And in fact according to both Hung and Djeng, Feng kind of tailored this story for Hung as both star and director, though Feng was guided by Hung's wish to offer an at least slightly comedic take on supposedly historical (or at least mythical) figures. While Arrow offers another really nicely packaged release with some nice non disc swag, the disc itself offers at least some of the same content that was on Eureka's Three Films with Sammo Hung release from 2019.

Frank Djeng also makes the case that while many consider Jackie Chan's Drunken Master* to be the first so-called "martial arts comedy", The Iron-Fisted Monk actually came out first and is the more rightful claimant to that title. However, as Svet Atanasov gets into in his The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray review, it can be hard at times to see The Iron-Fisted Monk as "only" a comedy, since it has a kind of brutal subtext of vengeance. Svet's review provides an apt plot summary and descriptions of some of the shared on disc supplements, along with his reaction to the technical side of things. As I always state, different reviewers means different opinions, and those who keep track of such things may note some slight differences in our scores as a result.

*Note: The link points to a double feature from Twilight Time.

The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Iron-Fisted Monk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

The Iron-Fisted Monk is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio [sic] with its original Cantonese, mandarin and English monoaural soundtracks. The Cantonese mono had additional adutio restoration by Torsteein Gislason, originally produced for the UK release by Eureka. The films was restored in 2K resolution from original film elements by Fortune Star, who supplied this master to Arrow Video for this Blu-ray release. Additional color correction was undertaken on behalf of Arrow Film by Brandon Bentley. Further materials were kindly supplied for this release by Eureka Entertainment, originally produced for their UK edition.

This is by and large an extremely pleasing looking presentation, though that "original film elements" statement always makes me wonder, especially in light of what I'd say are some larger than average variances between grain resolution and general clarity in some intermittent moments. Judging solely by screenshots (always a somewhat risky gambit), I'd say this Arrow release improves on the Eureka's release already excellent clarity, while offering a just slightly brighter and more yellow looking transfer that may actually highlight grain a bit more. Detail levels are quite expressive throughout, hampered only occasionally by Hung's kind of interesting use of moving cameras to capture a lot of the action sequences. There is some very slight wobble in the opening and closing credits, but otherwise stability is not problematic, and the entire presentation has a healthily organic look that should please fans. My score is 4.25.

The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eureka's release offered two mono tracks in Cantonese or Mandarin, with a stereo track in English. Arrow's The Iron-Fisted Monk offers a glut of audio options, including Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (labeled as the "classic dub") and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (labeled as the "DVD/2004 dub"). While there are certainly discernable differences between these tracks, I don't think you can really go wrong no matter what your choice is, as long as you're prepared for some substantial mix differences along the way. The Mono tracks generally have good fluidity and nice fidelity, though the Mandarin track is much hotter and brighter, to the point that I actually found some of the high end bordering on the painful during music or effects cues. The Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track definitely has a bit of a phased sound, but does open up both scoring and effects. I'd say the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track fares better in that it doesn't have the same phased quality, and I'd also argue that it has a more convincing midrange and low end than the Cantonese surround option. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Svet's review (linked to above) has a bit more information on the shared supplements.

• Commentary by Frank Djeng offers a somewhat subdued Djeng (at least when compared to some of his later high octane commentaries), though he's as informative as usual.


• Interviews with Sammo Hung offer two archival circa 2000 pieces in English:

  Interview #1 (HD*; 9:37)

  
  

  Interview #2 (HD*; 6:00)

• Interview with Casanova Wong (HD*; 17:05) evidently was not included on the Eureka release, and is subtitled in English.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD*; 4:18)


• Image Gallery (HD)

*720

Additionally, this edition offers a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills, as well as a double sided fold out poster featuring the same two choices. An illustrated collector's booklet offers some interesting writing from Brandon Bentley, who seems to be Arrow's new "go to guy" for a lot of their Asian releases. Finally, packaging features a slipcover.

The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Iron-Fisted Monk may seem like it's another goofy Sammo Hung comedy, but there's a rather interestingly savage subtext at play in the film, which gives it a bit of an edge. Arrow provides another release with generally secure technical merits and some very appealing supplements. Recommended.